A Controller Area Network (CAN) is an asynchronous serial bus network that connects devices, sensors, and actuators in various control applications (e.g., automotive, industrial automation, avionics, medical and office equipment, consumer appliances, etc.). Different CAN networks have different performance characteristics. Automotive CAN networks, for example, may be divided into two distinct categories—body control and powertrain. Body control networks enable communications among passenger comfort and convenience systems, and are typically less resource-intensive than powertrain networks, which service engine and transmission control.
Over the course of the last decade, two major physical layer designs have emerged in most CAN applications. They both communicate using a differential voltage on a pair of wires and are commonly referred to as a high-speed CAN (e.g., at rates of up to 1 Mbps) and low-speed CAN (e.g., at rates of up to 125 Kbps). Other CAN interfaces, however, may communicate using a single wire (e.g., at rates of up to 33.3 Kbps). Generally speaking, each node in a CAN network may be able to transmit and receive messages over a CAN bus.